Are you seeing double? Double sets of dishes, twice as many tools, multiples in your closets, and more? Maybe it’s time you purged. Time to clear house and clear that double vision. Let go of those doubles and see how freeing it can be!

Seeing Double: Time to Purge by Half

While some people complain about not having enough space, the problem is often actually having too much stuff. Sometimes it isn’t even too much of specific things, rather doubles and triples of items. No wonder there isn’t enough room!

The solution of course is to purge, but where do you start? The key is to go one room at a time and look at the entire collection of what you have. When you are thorough, it is amazing what you will find. Even better, it is fantastic discovering what you can get rid of.

Double-Down on Getting Rid of Extras

Bedroom

You might not always notice, but the closet is a good place to start to catch doubles of items. Do you have more than one sweater of the same colour? Maybe several dresses in a similar enough style, but different hues? Take stock and make choices. Your closet capacity will thank you for it. As will your straining clothes racks.

• Take everything out of your closet and sort it; skirts, dresses, sweaters, dress pants, etc
• Check to see if you have multiples of items that are similar enough to let some go
• Discard those that are faded, worn, missing buttons, torn, or that no longer fit
• If the aim is to make space, be ruthless in letting go of one half of all those doubles

Linen Closet

Your closet is the hardest area to tackle, as you battle nostalgia and possible future fashion trends. It gets easier from there. Do the same thing with towels, sheets, blankets, tablecloths, and other linens you may have. How many do you really need? Do you use all of them? When was the last time they were used? Letting go of items allows more space for the pieces you actually want and use, plus makes finding the right ones that much easier. It makes cleaning easier too!

Kitchen

Are you ready for the kitchen? It is surprising how many doubles you will find in there. Hopefully you won’t have two toasters or bread makers, but we bet you will find more than we you need in the busiest room in your house. Make life easier on yourself by keeping what you need and getting rid of what you don’t. Like the extra wine bottle stoppers and full set of orange peelers. How many extra bottles of wine do you really have? And those orange peelers? Keep one for each family member, one of each colour, or just one. Simple.

• thin out your cutlery drawer to one set and get rid of extras from old sets
• same thing goes for dishes – it is okay to keep everyday and special occasion dishes, but this is probably the only place where you should get away with doubles
• match up your tupperware containers and lids – dispose of lids without bottoms or bottoms without lids
• purge extra pots you don’t need – with a full set, no more is necessary
• double down on purging cups and mugs – if you aren’t a family of 20, why have 20 mugs?
• and you really only ever need one of any small or large appliances – more than that and who has the space?

Library

Lots of people have libraries and they can be plenty of joy. When they are overstuffed though, that joy disappears quickly. That goes for books, movies, games, puzzles, and other forms of entertainment. Like in other places in your home, thinning out your library makes for finding things you actually want easier. Get rid of books or movies you won’t read or watch again. Discard games and puzzles that are no longer played or that are missing pieces. You just might find something you forgot you had!

Tools

Now we get that for many tools you need multiples of them. That’s why you find sets. Like socket sets. Having multiple sets or several of the exact same tools isn’t necessary though. It isn’t. We aren’t asking anyone to get rid of their favourite hammer or the first screwdriver they ever owned, but it doesn’t hurt to poke through your tool box on occasion to see what you’ve got in there. And gentlemen. If it’s held together by duct tape, that could be a sign to let it go.

Once you are done purging, contact Load of Rubbish to schedule a pickup. We do our part to keep reusable items out of landfills by donating and recycling most of what we collect. Just because you no longer need it, doesn’t mean someone else might not benefit from it. Let us help you find clear vision once more!